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This October we are focusing on good security habits.
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Phishing and Scams Using AI (Artificial Intelligence)
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This week we look at how AI is being used to scam you. Phishing doesn't just happen through email, it can be over Text, Phone and even social media. With the evolving AI scammers are making it harder for you to detect these scams. Watch this NBC news video (2022) and see how easy it is to clone someone's voice of a family member, a friend, a co-worker, even your boss. Pay attention to the things that you can do before you get scammed out of your money or personal information.
Tips to prevent being scammed by AI phishing:
DO
- Pay attention - Be skeptical of any request for money or personal information. With AI anyone's voice can be mimicked easily.
- Confirm. Do not be fooled. Stop and Verify. Always confirm by calling the person back on a known number.
- Safe word - Pause for a second and ask a personal question that person would know. What did you have for dinner? Or something that happened the last time you saw them. For family members it could be setting up a secret word or phrase they can use when in distress.
Now for the DON'Ts
- Do not trust caller id number it can be spoofed. This is true for Text messages, Phone calls.
- Do not trust any request for money, gift cards or personal information.
- Do not be rushed or feel pressured. If you do it is likely a scam.
Phishing Scams that come over text can look like this using AI to create better sounding text messages. Do not be fooled.
Some tips on AI Text Scams
Urgent or Threatening Requests: Be skeptical, scammers use urgency to pressure you into giving personal information, buying gift cards, or even sending money.
Unsolicited Requests: Legitimate organizations do not request sensitive information via text messages. Such as unexpected job offers, internships, fines to be paid, or requesting credentials for user accounts.
Suspicious Links: Just as we saw with QR codes, refrain from clicking on links within text messages unless you have confirmed the link is legitimate. Instead, visit the website directly and log in from there.
Don't Respond: Unsure, Do not reply to the message or engage with the sender in any way. If you think the message is legitimate, always confirm by calling the person directly on a known number. For links go directly to their official web site and do not use the link in the text message.
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Magic Words and Passwords
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